Mora's early line on defense correct

LOS ANGELES – UCLA coach Jim Mora sensed in the spring that people doubted him when he said he thought the defensive line could be one of the team's best position groups.

Almost eight months later, that doubt has noticeably faded away in the midst of a 10-win season — one that saw the Bruins' defensive line take massive steps forward in its development.

"I thought the defensive line was one of the strong points of our team," Mora said Monday when asked about the group's improvement, "and I think it's proven to be the case."

Senior lineman Datone Jones finished the regular season sixth in the Pac-12 in tackles for loss (17.5), and blocked two punts. Cassius Marsh added 7.5 sacks — second on the team. And even Owamagbe Odighizuwa contributed in several key moments. It was the kind of performance Mora had hoped for when he made that declaration before even seeing his defensive line play a single game with him as coach.

Much of that improvement, Jones said, came from a simple, unexpected change in their training suggested by defensive line coach Angus McClure. Under McClure's program, the Bruins' defensive linemen were all trained by a martial artist to improve the use of their hands. Jones said he's seen a big change in the entire line's effectiveness at getting off blocks. The change could even make Jones one of the Bruins' highest drafted players in next year's NFL draft.

"After spring ball, we saw our hands got better, our hand speed was faster, guys were using their hands more, striking better," Jones said. "We did it every day. We started becoming guys with violent hands. ... When you don't have that ability yet, you don't understand what you can really do."

GETTING ANTSY?

With classes and exams over and players focusing only on practices for UCLA's bowl matchup with Baylor on Dec. 27, the long layoff is certainly a concern for the Bruins' players — many of whom acknowledged they're itching to play the game already.

"It's been a couple weeks," sophomore linebacker Eric Kendricks said. "We just want to get out there and play already."

Time off can certainly create a lack of focus — something Mora said he's trying to be cognizant of leading up to when the team leaves for San Diego on Friday. Mora claimed to be especially organized when it came to bowl preparation.

"You worry about that," Mora said. "So I think it's really important that you structure your practices and structure the time in between."

LIKE THE PLAYOFFS?

Mora's NFL experience has been a cause for conversation all season long, given the first-year coach's lack of experience in the college ranks. So how does preparing for the NFL playoffs compare to preparing for the college postseason?

"It's a lot longer," Mora said. "Playoff preparation is exactly how it would be for a normal game week. ... This is 15 practices — or 13 in our case. Plus, these guys are younger, so you can be a lot more physical. ... By this time in the NFL, you're never in pads."